Knobbly Love
by writtenby
Summary: Sometimes love ain't easy. lord!lady!au, juvia-centric
1. Chapter 1

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail!  
**title: **love in the air and i don't care  
**summary: **and it all begins with a small shoe shop, because that's really where stories begin really  
**dedication: **to people who think manga are real books because they are. and that's that.  
**notes: **i am attempting a multi-chapter fic. no i am not kidding. yes i am crazy. and no i have never finished a multi-chapter fic that i have started and dont even ask my why cuz i know there are only oneshots on my profile page right now. and this is big, this is hard, i haven't even finished/started the second chapter yet but what the fuck i just want to see how people will receive this chapter since its all a big test. are you interested? if you are, please leave a review or a note or a pm, or even just a favorite or a follow. thanks! this is starting to sound like a cinderella fic, but HOPEFULLY it will not twist and turn its way to that since ew.

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_**warning: this is not a gajeel x juvia, natsu x juvia, lyon x juvia, or a juvia-harem fic. as with the manga, only lyon has a crush on juvia. this is a gray x juvia, gajeel x levy, natsu x lucy fic **_

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"He's rich, he's powerful…he's perfect," he said to himself, in the midst of night. "And Juvia knows him. Won't she be happy? We will all be happy," he mused. "Well then!" Then he went off to bed.

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"Oi, brat, we're going to see Lord Lockser tomorrow. Get your clothes ready," Lord Redfox barked at his son.

Gajeel rose from the couch heavily, pulling on his pants in the process. He grunted as he tightened his belt until his pants hung loosely on his sturdy, rock-solid frame.

"Formal wear," Lord Redfox added on a second thought. "We're going to see yer fiancé after all."

Gajeel, halfway done with pulling an undershirt on, suddenly fell backwards onto the couch. "F-Fiancé?!" he sputtered. "I didn't hear a single thing about this, old man!"

He nodded with a shark-toothed grin, "Yeah, we decided it yesterday!"

"Who is this lady anyways?" His eyes widened in understanding. "The water woman? Ya want me to shack up with her?"

"Enough about this, brat, ya know her well 'nuff," Lord Redfox ordered. While they had an easy father-son rapport, his authority was still strong in the household (or more like palace-hold).

He buckled his last buckle and stood up off the couch. "I already have a girlfriend!" but his dad was already out the door.

He sighed and headed up to his room to look at his meager closet and to decide how to break the ugly news to his little girlfriend.

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"Ah-ah-ah!" Erza practiced, stretching her vocal cords. Juvia winced and didn't have the heart (or the nerve) to tell her she was horribly off-tune.

"Erza is good at singing," she complimented, using the nice tone she usually reserved to nobles and officials. On second thought though, maybe singing was the only thing Erza was _bad _at. At nineteen, Erza Scarlet was already a senior general in the army – the only female general in the whole land. Despite her young age, she was a good leader, although harsh, and a great fighter.

Besides, Juvia envied Erza less for her battle experience (there had recently been some strife with the neighboring nomads), and more for her romantic experiences.

At nineteen, Erza already had a forbidden boyfriend.

Okay, maybe he wasn't so "forbidden", but no one knew his name or who he was. Rumors had floated around for a couple of months now that she was engaged to Mystogan, military advisor to the king Makarov, but it seemed unlikely as they interacted only through work and maintained only a professional attitude about them.

And Erza said his name started with "J" like the "J" in "Juvia", and if anything, Erza never lied.

Juvia had never felt this kind of feeling before. Although she had admired boys from afar, she'd never had someone she'd wholeheartedly wished were _hers_. Sometimes she wished her father wasn't Lord Lockser, the one who held the monopoly on ship-building and the fish market. She was getting of marriageable age, and if she didn't find a noble she wanted to marry by…by…by soon, then her father would marry her off to some random guy.

There weren't that many people to choose from in the first place, though. There was Gajeel Redfox, her closest family friend, but that would be just awkward. Then there was Prince Laxus of the Dreyar line, and although her father probably secretly wished she would marry the prince to bring him power and gold, he was mighty scary with that lightning scar. There was also Lord Dragneel's son, Natsu Dragneel, but he was engaged already to Lucy, another friend of Juvia's.

He had pink hair anyways.

She wouldn't like him anyways.

He was engaged to Lucy.

And no, he was _not hot_! At all!

Juvia would never consider _Natsu_…well, maybe a little.

She wasn't allowed to, but a harmless crush couldn't hurt.

Somewhere a piece of glass shattered as Erza's singing reached an all-time high.

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He winced as he stabbed his little finger with the needle. Quickly, his brother shoved a bucket of ice under his nose and he plunged his finger in.

He'd always liked the cold. It soothed him.

He pulled his finger out of the ice and continued working on the shiny new shoe, stitching the last piece together. He shined the shoe with some polish then put it with its right counterpart on the front shelf. A customer entered, and he hastily retreated into the back room to make more shoes. From the front, he could hear Ultear's voice ringing out. "How may I help you?" she chirped.

"A new pair of blue satin slippers for my daughter Juvia!" a booming voice ordered. "The best, if you please."

"Of course! What size are your daughter's feet?" Ultear asked, customer-pleasing grin plastered on her face. It was only a customary question, of course, since Lord Lockser had come to this dainty shop to clothe his daughter's feet since she was just barely a babe. It was lesser-known, but a friend had introduced this shop to the lord, and he found it suited his tastes.

"Why, the smallest size of course! Only for my daughter's dainty feet. Her new fiancé must take one look at these slippers and appreciate how small her feet are," Lord Lockser ordered, hand slamming down on the countertop.

Ultear shoved down her shock and managed to mumble, "F-Fiancé…we will be right with you!" She turned around and yelled, "Lyon, Miss Lockser's shoe size, blue satin slippers!"

"Got it," Lyon said, as he appeared with the right box of shoes. "Here you go, Lord Lockser."

As the large blue haired man exited the shop, Lyon rolled his eyes and wondered, "What does Miss Lockser look like anyways, besides having tiny feet?"

Ultear pointed at the back. "Go, Lyon, don't stink up the front with your presence."

Lyon shuffled off, but stuck his tongue out as Ultear turned around.

From the back, the relentless shuffling of leather didn't stop.

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"Natsu, I want new shoes," Lucy demanded, eyes sparkling with vigor. "You haven't bought me anything for days, at the least."

Natsu counted his savings, "B-But Dad only gives me a couple hundred gold pieces a month and I only have twenty left for this month! Geez, woman, I spend all my money on you."

"Because you love me," Lucy countered, as Natsu's cat purred from by his foot. "Or do you not?"

"Of course Lucy! What d'ya wanna buy?"

"New shoes, I just said, Natsu," Lucy reminded, mouth smiling. "Brown leather sandals to match my eyes."

"I've never bought shoes before," Natsu said, thinking. "Where do people usually buy things, anyway?"

Lucy shrugged. "Let's just look around. There are so many shops I love that it shouldn't be hard to find _something_!" As they strolled out of their mansion, they noticed Lord Lockser jauntily walking into his own, carrying a shoe box. Natsu squinted.

"Look, let's go to…"Ice Make: Shoes"? What kinda stupid name is that? _Ice_? _Ice_?" Natsu protested. "Never mind, let's not go there."

However, Lucy's eyes were already sparkling. "Now I know where Juvia gets those amazing shoes from now! C'mon, Natsu, let's go!" she dragged Natsu off in the direction of the shop, but soon got lost.

By the time they found the shop, a different scene had also arrived at the same destination.

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"Juvia, try on these shoes for Daddy," Lord Lockser cooed to his daughter.

"New shoes, again, Daddy? Juvia already has very many shoes."

"These aren't just any shoes. They're made for your meeting with your fiancé tomorrow!" Lord Lockser squealed like an excited little girl.

"Fiancé? Juvia has a fiancé?" she asked, astounded.

The lord laughed. "Oh yes, your old friend Gajeel. Isn't that nice? You guys are friends anyways, and he's a noble too."

"Ga-Gajeel! Oh no, Juvia cannot marry him!" Juvia sputtered indelicately.

"It's too late!" Lord Lockser all but sang. "I've already agreed to Metalicana's proposal."

"Oh, Daddy, Juvia is sad," she whimpered. She knew about Gajeel's secret girlfriend…

Meanwhile, the lord unwrapped the new shoes and fitted them onto her feet. No matter how he tugged, the back wouldn't slide on right. "That shop!" he raged. "They were the wrong size! I will go back and they better give me all that money back. This will not do to meet your fiancé tomorrow."

They headed off to the shop again – Ice Make: Shoes, Juvia going there for the first time in her life.

After all, their shoes had always been perfect.

Now that there was a size discrepancy, Juvia had to tag along to make sure they knew exactly what her size was.

That was where it all began.

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**written_by**


	2. Chapter 2

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**title: **devil's dangerous  
**summary: **countries at war, everything's going down in flames  
**dedication: **mother's day, i guess? since...well...since it's mother's day haha  
**notes: **um so basically this whole thing finally got a plot! yay! and also, don't draw hasty conclusions just yet…there may be a new character in this whole mess…gray is not who you think he is, nor is he who you do not think he is. or could he be? okay, this whole thing is just getting confusing haha but anyways i'll just say not to draw conclusions coz that's a good idea. enjoy! (also Levy will come in the next chapter okay be patient thanks bye) (oh yeah and so will gajeel, he'll have to break the news sometime soon, right? and levy's not gonna be happy haha of course)

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"Oi, kid, get out of my way! My Juvia needs to get her feet fitted," Lord Lockser boomed, shoving aside what he deemed as a random pink haired kid with his golden haired girlfriend. Wait…pink hair…that…was the young Dragneel and his fiancé Miss Heartfilia! "Excuse me," he added as an afterthought.

Juvia trailed meekly behind, casting inconspicuous looks at Natsu. The blue-haired lord marched straight up to the front desk and slammed his hands down. "The shoes I bought today were the wrong size!"

Ultear sweated nervously. "U-Um, are you sure? Our shop has never gotten a wrong size before."

"Are you accusing me of lying?!" Lord Lockser roared.

Ultear shook her head. "I'll let you consult with our shoe expert, Gray. Gray, come out!"

A man with unruly black hair and a frown slouched out of the back room. Upon seeing nobles in the shoe shop, he straightened up somewhat, waved in a somewhat salutatory fashion, then said in a somewhat polite voice, "Hi, 'm Gray."

Juvia looked back and forth between Gray and Natsu, eyes spinning. Unbeknownst to her father, she was shamelessly ogling Gray's handsome face. Her mind compared Gray and Natsu and ultimately decided that Gray was the better one (Natsu had a _fiancé _and Gray didn't; he was single and free) – and once she decided that she really liked someone, she was completely devoted to that person. Her love-muddled mind decided that Lucy was _still _her love rival, although she was engaged.

A Juvia in love was really dangerous.

Meanwhile, Lord Lockser stared at Gray, unimpressed. "Where's the man that brought the shoes? I've got a fishbone to pick with him!"

"O-Oh, Lyon's out collecting the materials. But if you need someone it'll be Gray!" Ultear plastered a cheerful smile on her face, eyes hard.

Gray held out his hand, and Juvia swooned. Gray pushed a hand through his wild hair, and Juvia nearly fell into a dead faint. The lord placed the shoebox in Gray's hand a little harder than usual. Lord Lockser was usually a kind noble, like his title suggested, but Gray was a little too rude for his liking.

"Thanks, Lord Lockser," Gray mumbled as a customary address to a man higher than him, a lowly shoemaker. He looked at it, and turned the shoe over in his hands. Immediately, he realized exactly what was wrong. It wasn't his problem – just that Lord Lockser didn't seem to know how to properly prepare new shoes.

He pulled the paper balls out of the inside that helped the slipper keep its shape and handed the shoes back to the lord. "When you get new shoes, just pull out the stuffing first," he said, baritone voice resonating in the small shop. Juvia's eyes sparkled.

As her dad dragged her out of the shop, her eyes glinted with a hard light and she pointed at Gray while making a small heart.

Even though Gray's back was turned and he was heading back into the back room, he shivered and felt as if a knife was slicing across his back. And it was ice cold.

Normally he loved the cold...but this...this was just insanely scary.

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Lucy walked out of Ice Make: Shoes with a spring to her step and no boxes in her arms. Instead, Natsu groaned as he shouldered all the weight. Lucy called it a punishment for getting into a verbal argument with Gray, the shoemaker, of all people, but Natsu knew he would have to carry the boxes ever since he walked out of the door of their bedroom.

His pocket jingled and he nearly cried. Out of twenty gold pieces, he now only had seven left. Who knew Lucy could buy so many things? He bet that she wasn't even going to wear half of them. "Let's go home, Luce," he sighed in misery.

Unaware to his turmoil, Lucy skipped down the lane to the porch and pulled the double doors open with a flourish. She pulled the bags from him, and with a rare display of her monster-like strength, she lifted them all up the stairs and into their bedroom. Natsu sat downstairs massaging his abused deltoids and biceps. Lucy was strong, he knew that. So why couldn't she carry her own bags? But then again, Natsu did love her, for whatever reason (she's so weird, for one...) and if she _had _to make him carry her bags, then he would.

"Natsu, I'll tell Virgo to make dinner!" Lucy called from upstairs.

Natsu's spirit was abruptly revived. "DINNER!" he cheered, then slouched into the kitchen to grab a few spicy tofu snacks.

"Don't eat anything until dinner's served," Lucy warned, voice echoing down the staircase. "It's not good for you."

Frowning, Natsu slunk back out of the kitchen to settle himself onto the couch and take some well deserved z's.

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Lyon returned to the little shoe shop, carrying bags of leather, string, and other supplies.

Ultear said wryly as he entered, "Well, I guess you missed your chance to see Miss Lockser."

"What? Miss Lockser came by?" Lyon asked, intrigued.

"Oh, yes, her father is somewhat of a blithering idiot."

"Sh, don't say that. Someone might hear," Lyon warned.

Ultear rolled her eyes. "I'm sure Gray agrees."

"Since when has Gray agreed with anything?" Lyon gestured to the back room with amuse.

"I agree with Ultear," Gray called from the back, in order to spite Lyon, and also because it was true.

"He just loves proving me wrong, doesn't he?" Lyon moaned, face twisted in an adorably angered expression.

Ultear nodded, once, twice. "Oh yes, yes he does."

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Throughout the carriage ride home, Juvia was thinking about the handsome man she had seen earlier. _Forget Natsu_! This man was a thousand times hotter, and his icy coldness made him ever so appealing…

Meanwhile, her father was stewing off to the side. How could he have forgotten to remove the stuffing? Maybe he was too excited about the engagement. That had to be it. What more could Juvia want than Gajeel? It was definitely a better alternative to marrying a random noble she had never met before. He was just looking out in her best interests.

Suddenly, he heard a loud bugle sound as the carriage passed by one of the poorer neighborhoods along this road.

"Draft call! All young men under the age of thirty five and over the age of eighteen please report to the post office by eight o'clock next morning!"

Draft? For what war? Lord Lockser thought deeply for a few moments. Oh yes, the war against the neighboring country. The King was a man named Silver, and he was said to be so ruthless that his own children fled the country after his wife was murdered. Their kingdom and this one were fighting over a small strip of one hundred acre land that bordered both their countries.

It was such a small deal, but neither side were willing to give up. The soil was fertile and vegetation abundant; if it was used properly, the land could become a welcome source of crop income in years to pass.

Juvia had heard the draft men calling as well, and her thoughts turned to Gray (finally, she remembered his name!). Was he under eighteen? He was running a shop with his siblings all on his own though, so he could very well be an adult already. What if he went off to war and never came back? Resolve tightened, she decided to make sure he was still there the next day. Her father was to be off at a meeting all afternoon, and she would take that time to travel down to the little shop.

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King Makarov sat on his gold gilded throne in the throne room. His grandson Laxus, whose father Ivan had been exiled years ago, sat next to him, face drawn in a scowl. "How much longer are you going to send men to that tiny little piece of land?!" Laxus roared, angered. "It's not worth it, Grandfather!"

King Makarov shook his head and sighed. His grandson did not yet understand the politics of war, even though he was already seventeen years of age. "Laxus…if we allow them to take that land, what do you think will happen?"

"They can have that thing, and then we'll just live peacefully with the new boundaries," Laxus retorted, face smug. Wasn't peace what his grandfather wanted? Maybe he was getting a little crooked in the head.

"No, no," Makarov said. "Think about it like this. If we give the land to them, they'll think we're weak. And then what will they do? They'll come marching into our country expecting us to hand it over just like we did with that strip of land."

Laxus thought on it for a long while. "You're right, Grandfather. But I still don't like the bloodshed…not as long as I can't get into some of that action."

"No, Laxus. I will not allow you to fight just yet. You are not ready," Makarov said with a firm tone of voice.

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In the neighboring country, some two hundred fifty miles away, the king of that nation was smirking.

"Finally…I'll be reunited with you, my dear son."

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**written_by**


	3. Chapter 3

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **guard let down  
**summary: **demons on the battlefield  
**dedication: **to the two reviewers i love you guys mwahhhh also Disney because guess what i am SO obsessed with Disney songs right now  
**notes: **well this chapter is kind of filler but the beginning is kind of eh. well. sorry for the boring chapter…it was needed. also, i'm a sporadic updater. don't expect too much haha. i have a special plan for that land that they're fighting over. it has its future marked on it already if the countries would just stop fighting over it!

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It was pretty late at night already, yet Gajeel was still preparing to go out. Hastily, he draped a dark heavy cloak around his shoulders, did the clasp, and then pulled his hood up.

The night air was cold, nearly too cold to breathe. The stars hadn't come out yet, and a few traces of the sun still shimmered above the horizon line. He breathed harshly, once, twice, then began to run down the lane and past his mansion's private garden.

Most of the world was safely tucked inside their homes, busy eating dinner; however, Gajeel had finished dinner early by himself and made time to make a quick excursion. He slowed to a stop as he reached the front door of a quaint bookshop. While holding that mystical small-town feel, the shop itself was rather large. _McGarden Books_, it read.

It was a well-known bookshop that collected all volumes, ancient to newly published. It housed many historical artifacts and was nearly as stocked as the federal library up in the royal palace. Yessir, Gajeel was proud of his little shrimp alright. After her father's health began to decline, she began to run the shop mostly on her own. However now, he was a bringer of bad news.

He opened the door and a small bell on a red ribbon jingled somewhere above him. The familiar smell of musty books hit his sensitive nose. Although he'd been pretty disgusted when he first came, now it smelled like comfort to him. Gajeel walked to the front desk and rested his elbows on the surface.

"Shrimp," he whispered crudely. "Shrimp, you here?"

"I'm here!" a voice called from the back, and if he strained, he could see a shock of wavy blue hair in the massive giant of a storage room. "Hello, Gajeel! It's nice to see you again! Wait a minute, I'm almost out!"

Gajeel merely grunted and shifted his weight to his other leg. If she was busy, he wouldn't rush it. He had no want to tell her the news he was bringing anyways.

About two minutes later, Levy rushed out of the back room, hair mussed. "Gajeel!" she said, eyes bright. She rushed towards him and hugged him. Gajeel stiffened but sighed and picked up her, twirling her around in a circle. "So what are you here for? Last I checked you thought all these books would make you throw up your lunch," she teased.

Gajeel's eyes hardened and he decided to just give her the straight truth. "Levy…" he began, and Levy knew it was serious. Gajeel rarely called her Levy. "…I'm gettin' engaged," he ended with.

Levy paused. Her entire being paused. She laughed shakily and said, after a pregnant pause, "I guess we both knew this would happen someday, right?"

Gajeel nodded, but continued. "Yer smart, ain't you? Can't ya think o' some plan?"

"So you're not breaking up with me?" Levy asked, eyes wide. He shook his head. Unknowingly she broke out into a small smile. "I don't have anything right now, but come by when you have time and we can think on it."

"Thanks," Gajeel said, and Levy knew what he meant. _Thanks for understanding_. _Thanks for not getting mad at me_. _Thanks for helping_. _Thanks for loving me_.

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A messenger ran into King Makarov's listening chamber and yelled loudly, without permission. "The Skyrrgian forces have broken through the halfway point!" Because they were fighting over a piece of land, naturally they were fighting on that piece of land. Although it made no sense to fight on a piece of land you were trying to preserve, the countries thought it best to fight there and not on their respective countries.

Makarov's eyes widened. "Send more troops. If we lose the halfway mark as well, we lose the whole war." He wouldn't admit it, but Skyrrgia was a strong proud country with many fine warriors. Instead, he thought of them as a fierce country full of blood-loving savages. "Send out a draft!" he ordered another man.

Laxus nodded. While he didn't particularly agree with the basis of the war itself, he could appreciate fighting and war, especially sending more men, as it proved his country was strong and prosperous. "Let me go," he encouraged his grandfather. "I will fight for Faera as just another proud man." Honor and pride were just as important to him as the next man.

Makarov vehemently refused. "Laxus, you will be the last person I send in. If you die, what do you think will happen?"

Grudgingly, he admitted it. The country would fall into ruin with no heir but his father, Ivan, who had been banished to the country Ravena years earlier. Ivan had tried to take the throne of Faera years earlier. Luckily, his attempt failed and he was banished from the country.

"Very well."

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Erza Scarlet strode down the halls, eyes blazing and armor on. She was preparing to head onto the battlefield with her partner Mystogan. It wasn't partner in the sense of a romantic relationship, but rather a partner in war. By themselves, they were unstoppable. Together, they were invincible.

"Jellal!" she shouted, as she banged the door open to his room in the palace. "Hurry; we are due to depart soon."

Jellal looked up in surprise. As he saw the crimson-haired warrior, his eyes crinkled up in a smile. "Hey, Erza. You know you shouldn't say my name that loud. No one is supposed to know that I am Mystogan."

She stood steadfast by the door and waited as he put on the mask that covered the lower half of his face and put his bandanna on. "Let's go," she ordered, and they exited.

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The battlefield was a complete disaster. Wounded men and women from both sides were wailing in pain, while others were silent in death. Even more were still fighting at the front lines. Without hesitation, Erza and 'Mystogan' spun into battle, knocking down soldiers left and right.

Cries of, "Its Knightwalker and Mystogan!" rang from around them.

To an outsider's eye, they would look like a whirlwind. However, in the mess of limbs, they were soon separated. Even then, they were a force to be reckoned with. Erza easily tore through the entire front line of Skyrrgian troops, while 'Mystogan' wiped out an entire battalion from the back. With the duo on their side, the enemy quickly retreated and the halfway line was won back. Erza and 'Mystogan' retreated into their camp tent and 'Mystogan' quickly removed his mask and became Jellal again.

"They're pretty weak," Jellal concluded. "There's just so many of them. King Silver is choosing to go with quantity instead of quality for now." To them they were like hordes of flies. On the battlefield, there wasn't a consideration for individual lives.

"For now," Erza agreed. "Who knows when he'll send out his troops of well-trained fighters? We can't let our guard down."

"No, we can't," Jellal consented. "But I'm confident we can take them down."

Erza nodded. "We can take them down."

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Juvia sat in the grand dining hall, eating dinner with her family. The long table was nearly completely empty, and the feeling of space gave Juvia a lonely feeling. She'd liked the quaint little shoe shop a lot better. How would it feel if she were living in such a nice cozy family? However, she surmised, she should be lucky to have such a nice home and have such a high status. Compared to a lowly shoemaker…of course she was better! How could she be jealous of a…of a shoe maker?

Angrily, she shoved a piece of boneless fish into her mouth as her mind returned once again to Gray, the handsome shoemaker. Immediately, her pupils exploded into hearts as she closed her eyes and imagined his face.

Never had she thought she would find a commoner attractive but…her obsession now was truly only him. She would have to visit the in-palace body pillow maker soon.

There were some jobs to be done.

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Meanwhile, Silver sat imperiously on his throne. "You mean to say you lost the half line…again?" he asked coolly and condescendingly. "Answer me, Kyouka."

The armored woman kneeling below him nodded and tensed. "Sir Mystogan and Lady Knightwalker were sighted easily destroying our forces, Your Majesty."

Silver shrugged easily, a lazy smirk building on his face. "I guess it can't be helped then. Send Minerva out." Mystogan and Knightwalker were a strong duo well known throughout the lands, even as far as to the northern reaches of Skyrrgia where barely a couple families dared to live. Although it was common knowledge in the Faeran palaces who Knightwalker's true identity was, not a single one of them would tell who she was to any outsiders.

Mystogan was even more discreet. Silver had heard that even most of the palace and court members had no idea who this powerful man was.

However…even more terrifying than this duo, there was Faera's ace. This man was rumored of but never seen, and Faera had never had a need to call upon this man. Silver hadn't even heard of his name before, but rumor had it he was able to break down the mightiest walls with just a single touch.

If this man entered into battle, Silver mused, he might just have to send out his own troop of elite warriors.

Whatever would happen, Silver knew two things.

Firstly, Skyrrgia would come out on top this war.

Second, he would get to see his dearest children again.

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**written_by**


	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail  
**title: **regular old catastrophes  
**summary: **the world's coming down, and it's all on you  
**dedication: **to Friday the 13th, aka today did you know its also a full moon like seriously, did you know its pretty cool. have any of you seen the fault in our stars and maleficent? i just saw them both yesterday and wow, pm me for opinions.  
**notes: **all my chapters up to this point have been 1745 words exactly with author note shit. however, today i'm going up to 2200…hopefully i'll have the motivation. i had extreme writers block…everything was getting stuttered out by my hands…but suddenly i just started writing, and before i knew it, in like ten minutes, i finished around 1300 words. it was strange. but i'm glad, since i really don't feel like writing…i don't even know where all this plot is going haha – hope you guys enjoy this chapter…shit's really hitting the fan…

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It was the next day already, and despite her father's warnings not to get into trouble while he was at his string of meetings, Juvia was already scheming about how to get out of the castle. The sun was barely up, and as her father was at his first meeting of the day, Juvia shrugged on her peacoat and decided to go search for Gray.

She headed for the main family room on the first floor to find her maidservant polishing the furniture. "Kagura, could you get the carriage ready?"

"Where are you going, milady?" Kagura asked, putting down her tablecloth.

"The shoe shop from yesterday," Juvia said, striding out the door. Kagura followed but split off to one side to prepare the carriages, while Juvia took the long path through the garden. By the time she reached the carriage storage, Kagura had the carriage prepared.

Juvia stepped into it, and soon, the familiar rocky gait of the horses lulled her to a gentle peacefulness.

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The sudden halt of the rhythm in which the horses had been trotting brought Juvia to understand that they had finally arrived at the shoe shop. Juvia had specifically ordered that Kagura tell no one, and that she was to go alone, with no servants.

While a regular servant would have been obligated to report everything had Lord Lockser asked, Kagura was Juvia's personal maid, and listened first and foremost to Juvia.

In addition, Kagura had a deep sense of honor and came from a powerful ancient family that used to serve the king as samurais. The samurais were all female.

Kagura therefore also served Juvia as a bodyguard.

As Juvia stepped off of the carriage and sent it away with orders to return an hour later, she looked around and smiled at the sign. It was not a maleficent smile, nor was it altogether happy…it was conniving, yet filled with the most hope ever seen in just one smile. It was the smile of a wild Juvia in love, living in her natural habitat.

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Once in the shop, she met with the fresh face of a white haired man. He was handsome, yet not as handsome as Gray. He obviously heard the bell jingle from beside the door and waved his hand towards the front, not bothering to look up. "Ultear'll be will you soon!" he said roughly. Right as he said so, Ultear hurried out from the back.

"Miss Lockser!" she cried, confused. "Are your shoes not fitting yet again?"

"Oh, no," Juvia said, even as Lyon looked up and his face became pink in an instant. "It's just-" she wondered how to phrase it.

In that moment of hesitation, Lyon had sprung forward. "Miss Lockser," he said, voice suddenly smooth as a well cut diamond. "It's a pleasure to meet you." He took her hand and kissed it. Juvia blushed, unused to such affections from a stranger. Hastily, she pulled her hand away.

Not knowing what else to do, she ignored the strange man in front of her and asked, "Does you know where Gray is? Juvia is looking for Gray." Now it was Ultear's turn to gape in shock. No one had ever come in asking for Gray. "Is he taken by the draft?"

"N-no," Ultear stammered out. "Gray and Lyon here are but sixteen." Juvia sighed in relief. Just as she closed her eyes, they snapped open as she heard a familiar voice.

Her heart beat faster, and her eyes stayed closed. The heat in her face made it clear that she was blushing a bright red.

"She's back?" Gray said sullenly, and Juvia's heart skipped a beat. She heard his feet step lightly over the wooden floor, and her heart skipped another beat. Suddenly, she could not take it any longer.

"GRAY~" she yelled, and flung herself at him. Gray found himself with a lovestruck girl in his arms. Meanwhile, Lyon was stewing by himself all in the corner.

"W-What?" Gray asked, confused.

Ultear only smiled.

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Gajeel could have sworn he saw Juvia walk into the little shoe shop next door when he entered the colossal library just next door. Ignoring the flash of blue curls, he entered. A cool draft hit him as he pulled the doors open, and he sighed in relief. It was summer after all, even if summer in Faera was rather mild.

"Shrimp!" he called into the drafty inside air of the library.

A small figure dashed in front of him and whispered, "Sh! This is a library, Gajeel."

"Oops," Gajeel said, shrugging. He'd always been terrible at keeping his voice down. He picked up his girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the lips. As he set her down, he vaguely registered her voice scolding him with the usual. [_"…this is a library…kiss…not allowed…any public…affection…Gajeel! GAJEEL..."_]

At his name, he looked up to find Levy with her small hands on her hips. He waved his hand to dismiss her nagging, and she merely huffed, used to it, and dragged him into the back room.

Eyebrow raised, he dropped himself onto a trembling chair.

Levy stood up to make it seem like they were around the same height even as he was sitting down. "Down to business! How to get rid of this engagement."

Gajeel yawned. "I don't see how it matters. I get engaged to the water woman, and we can keep on doin' this, right under my old man's nose. He ain't gotta know."

Levy sputtered, "T-T-That's not right! That's like cheating!"

"Like I said, ain't no one gotta know."

"Gajeel, be serious here. If someone finds out, everyone who's involved in this will have their reputation tarnished!" Levy protested.

"What does tarnished mean, eh?"

"Ruined! Blackened! Hurt!" Levy rattled off. "No, Gajeel, let's think of something better."

At this, Gajeel got serious. "Levy, ya gotta understand this. I don't know what ya think of how nobles think, but there ain't no way proud Metalicana Redfox is gonna let his son marry someone not of noble blood."

Levy stood stunned, faced with this harsh truth. They'd both known it all along…Gajeel more so than Levy, but they'd risked this. Levy turned her face downwards and looked at the ground. "We were prepared to lose it all, weren't we?" she asked, voice small. "When we began this, we knew it wouldn't…"

"…last?" Gajeel finished. "No, Levy, we're gonna last…we just gotta find a way to get around this."

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"Well, you got yourself a noble admirer, don't you there, Gray?" Ultear asked him for the umpteenth time, as the four of them sat around in the back room, trying to extricate Juvia from Gray.

"Juvia is so happy that Gray is not over eighteen!" Juvia squealed exultantly. Lyon sulked harder.

"What about me?" Lyon asked, hopeful. Although he used to make fun of the girl, now that he'd truly seen her, he was enchanted by her beauty and naivety.

"Who are you?"

"…nevermindme," Lyon mumbled back, disheartened. Ultear laughed, a high clear laugh.

She patted Lyon on the back. "Oh, Lyon, you'll find a girl who'll actually love you someday," she reassured. He didn't look convinced.

In the past, Lyon had pursued another girl, who'd eventually left him for Gray. What was so good about Gray anyways? He'd never figure it out. And here he was losing who he was sure was the love of his life to Gray. Again.

Meanwhile, Gray himself was certainly not enjoying this. He didn't particularly like girls hanging onto him, although he acknowledged his own good looks. He often spoke his sentiments about his charm aloud to Lyon specifically to make fun of him, although what he'd never say was that Lyon himself was quite handsome as well.

Gray was just handsomer. ("Gray is so handsome!" Juvia squealed. Gray winced.)

And there was no possible way to fix that.

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Erza and Jellal arrived in front of the king Makarov.

"You two have done well," Makarov said, voice joyful. "We have pushed back the Skyrrgian forces to past the half way line again. If this continues, we could win the war!"

The two bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty," they spoke in unison. "We will serve you with our utmost power."

Makarov dismissed them, and they exited the throne room. Once in the hall, they looked at each other and communicated without talking, then wandered off to their respective rooms.

Erza changed out of her armor and sat down on her bed to think. What was the point of this war? It was both pointless and meaningful…but Makarov seemed to think that the meaningful outweighed the pointlessness. She couldn't say she agreed.

However, what she did agree with Makarov on was that Silver was a force that needed to be stopped. Given the chance, Silver would happily raze over any land that lied in his way, even allies. It wasn't that easy though…

Near midnight that day, as she exited Jellal's room hastily dressed, she saw a shadow moving along the walls.

With a battle cry and no fear for her own safety, she ran towards it and threw her right fist forward with all the power she could muster. While the mysterious person was stalled, she ran back into Jellal's room and roused him. He donned his armor and ran out, but by that time, the person was gone.

No doubt that figure was sent to assassinate Jellal, as his room was the only one down this hallway. And if Jellal was being targeted like that, it meant that the assassin knew exactly who Jellal was.

There was one more thing: it was highly likely that Erza was also a target then, and even more likely that the mastermind behind this puppet also knew the identity of herself.

And if this mastermind knew these identities…then he or she must have either worked in the king's palace as a close advisor in the past, or was working as one right this moment.

All of this led to only one conclusion: they weren't safe behind their walls anymore. Not a single one of them.

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Upon further contemplation, Erza realized something that made the situation even worse than it already was.

If Erza had been seen by this figure exiting Jellal's room, he or she would certainly expect them to be in some relationship. Up until now, their relationship had been completely secret.

If it were to be exposed that two strictly work related people were in a relationship, and who these two people were…the citizens and workers would lose their faith in the two.

It was dangerous that the mastermind knew both their identities and their relationship. If both got out, Erza could only think of the worst that could happen. Of course, there may be better situations, but this still could not be allowed to happen; if it did happen, the most horrifying outcome could equal a huge chance for Skyrrgia and Silver.

The collapse of Faera and peoples' trust in the court.

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**notes2: **okay so yes, it was implied that jellal and erza had sex, which they did, and _erza is on birth control don't worry guys i'm not planning on pregnancies messing anything up _and basically what i'm trying to say is _no, i don't write lemons nor am i planning to _because i'm still way too young to even attempt that (actually i have a shitload of reasons like: i don't really read lemons, i don't even know how to write one, i don't _want _to write one, i'm too young like i said, and i would be destroyed by my parental units if they found out, and ew i'm still a young not so innocent child [i'm not breaking any rules if you wanted to know])

**written_by**


	5. Chapter 5

**disclaimer: **i don't own fairy tail.  
**dedication: **the stars in the sky and the dew on the grass. of course, though water, ever water. ignore me. i'm perfectly fine i'm fine i'm fine. yeah. I NEED PHOTOSHOP. PHOTOSHOP DAMMIT. . AH  
**title: **clicking off  
**summary: **when everything's going wrong, maybe something can go right.  
**notes: **i hate hate hate writer's block, i swear. i had 1000 words done right after i posted the fourth chapter, then i just got stuck. i was like "dude it looks like i wrote a lot" but in fact it wasn't anything at all…this chapter…yeah, no conclusions, again, i'm really warping everything. i tried to include a bit more light hearted shit but it didn't work out…please tell me if i'm doing something wrong, i'll try and fix it. cause hey, you guys probably know more than i do about writing.

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All too soon, a rattle and a grinding noise outside the shoe shop alerted Juvia that her carriage had arrived, just on time. Of course Kagura would never be late, only punctual. That was her nature as a warrior.

Reluctantly, Juvia parted from Gray, memorizing his body proportions as she went in order to report them to her body pillow maker. She nearly giggled out loud as she recalled her silly little crush on Natsu. Ha! Natsu was nothing compared to Gray.

And then there was Lucy. She had been Juvia's love rival before; she'd do anything to get in Juvia's way of love! Juvia's mind twisted in a hundred different ways to get to Gray first, before Lucy did. There was no way Juvia would let Love Rival beat her in love. Except…that Lucy already had a fiancé. That was no matter. Juvia was already convinced that Lucy wanted to steal Gray from her.

"Bye bye Gray!" Juvia called back to her love. In her vision, all she could see was him. In her vision, he looked as if he were pained to be parted from her. In her vision, Gray was all too deeply in love with her already.

In everyone else's vision, they saw Gray's pained look as a sign that Juvia had broken one too many ribs with her crushing hug. They saw Lyon rush to send her out, except the fact that Juvia had eyes only for Gray. Lyon was brushed aside again.

Only Ultear remained unscathed in the duration of Juvia's visit. "Goodbye, Miss Lockser," she replied cheerfully, the only one out of the trio of shoemakers who could speak.

Out of instinct however, the traumatized boys and Ultear chorused in unison, then promptly looked absolutely horrified.

"We hope you visit again."

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"Oh yes, Juvia will," she smiled and closed her eyes as the rocking of the carriage lulled her back to peacefulness.

Back at her mansion, she decided it was time for a visit to her favorite body pillow maker. On her way to the office, she realized that she first needed a sketch of the person she wished to make a body pillow of, in that pose. In a rush, she hurried back out to the carriages and arranged another visit to the shoe shop.

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After the trio slowly regained their sanity and returned to work, the door suddenly flew open again.

Ultear heard her before she saw her.

"GRRRRAY~!" Juvia yelled, startling the people on the street who were walking by. She speed-walked up to Ultear and grabbed her by the shoulders. "Where's Gray? Excuse me, but where's Gray? Can you tell me where Gray is? I need to make a body pillow of him and-"

"Calm down Miss Lockser. Gray's in the back, as usual," Ultear replied. Juvia then walked right past Ultear, ignoring her, and went straight to the back room. "H-Hold up, customers are not authorized to enter the back room!" Ultear called after her, but Juvia didn't listen. Ultear sighed, and made an exception.

By the time Ultear had entered the room, Juvia was already beginning to mumble incoherently. Gray was already stunned into a statue. Juvia was arranging his limbs this way and that way, and Gray mouthed to Ultear something like, "Save me!" Luckily Lyon wasn't here. He'd throw a fit. He was still taking a shit in the-

-speak of the fucking devil! Lyon appeared. "Hey Ultear, you're supposed to be at the front…J-Juvia?"

"Hey, be respectful."

As usual, no one listened to Ultear.

Juvia got a few good sketches in of Gray in various poses, all the while Gray was still stunned into obedience. He regained movement after Juvia backed off. Immediately, he half tripped into the corner.

All the while, Lyon was fussing around Juvia and trying to pose for her, to no avail. She merely brushed him off as if he was a fly. Seeing that made Ultear feel doubly sorry for Lyon, but at the same time, it was amusing.

As Juvia strode out the door with promises to return again for Gray, they finally all slumped to the floor, exhausted. "Please…_don't_…return…again…" Gray mumbled, while Lyon sulked in his own corner.

Ultear stood up, with the full intent of ruining their lives further.

Winking, Ultear pointed at Gray. "So, what did you think of Miss Lockser?" Lyon opened his mouth to speak, and promptly shut it again, turning a flustered pink. "Not you, Lyon. I asked Gray."

"She's clingy."

"HOW-"

"Lyon."

"Pfft."

"DON'T-"

"LYON."

"Pfft."

"GRAY."

Ultear promptly sent Lyon and Gray into the back room to work out their 'differences' while she herself lounged around the front desk. Business was slow today, anyways. While she knew that it was absolutely hilarious to watch Gray and Lyon flounder under the attention and inattentions respectively of Miss Lockser, she also knew that it was wrong to let it go on.

A noblewoman becoming close friends with shoemakers? Impossible. She was being a bit of a hypocrite, seeing as…well, she was friends with a noble. However, their friendship was completely secret and wouldn't get out. Who could trust a young sixteen year old girl in love like Miss Lockser?

Ultear could bring up the trio's past, but she wanted to bury that in the background…it contained too much pain…too many bad memories. It was something she'd rather keep locked up in the back of her mind. She was sure Gray and Lyon felt that way too, especially Gray.

She could find no good way to tell Miss Lockser not to come back, seeing as the blue haired girl was so devoted to Gray [why, she would never know] [Gray was an always sullen, always downcast man who enjoyed making fun of other people to make his day] [in addition to making fun and making his own day, he also made shoes, if you didn't know]. Ehem. Bad jokes aside, Ultear could see it in Juvia's eyes. She was…unstoppable when devoted.

It seemed like she'd have to make a call to two certain people.

She sat down and penned two separate letters, then sent them off to their daily mail spot.

_Dear Jellal and Meredy…_

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Erza now deigned to hang a list of names across her bed, so that when she woke up every day, she could stare at the list of people. She wished to cross out one name per day, and narrow it down as much as she could.

She would start from the top and prove that they weren't traitors, until she found one person that was the traitor. And if none of them were, it meant they were ex-members of the court who had been exiled. The only two known exiled members of the court to this day were Ivan Dreyar and Hades Purehito. They were probably more likely to be the ones who had targeted them, but Erza needed to make sure she wasn't living among a spy.

Consequences would be absolutely dire if everything about them was reported to King Silver...it could even result in a full-scale attack of Faera and the collapse of the kingdom. Silver was a ruthless king next to Makarov, Erza knew it, and she absolutely couldn't let this happen.

Today she was going to begin with…Evergreen.

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Evergreen woke up with a large sharp sword pointed at her neck, and a dark figure looming over her with the curtains drawn [for effect] and the nightlight turned off [for effect].

"RAPE! RAPE!" she managed out before her mouth was muffled by an armored hand.

"Sh, don't make a ruckus," a familiar voice spoke from atop her.

Evergreen tried to gape, unsuccessfully, beneath Erza's hand. "Er-Erza?" What she'd like to ask was why Erza was barging into her room at such a late hour, but unfortunately she could barely get her syllables out.

Suddenly, Erza's grip turned harsh and her voice colder. "I know you know who we are. I know who you are. I want you to know that I know exactly what you're plotting." She removed her hand to give Evergreen a chance to speak. If Evergreen said anything to arouse her suspicion, Erza would arrest her immediately.

"How did you find out?" Evergreen's eyes widened in shock. She didn't think anyone would find out, but…! Erza was a keen one.

"So it was you…" Erza mused. "I should just kill you here and now."

"W-What does our plan to make Laxus fall in love with Mirajane have to do with you?" Evergreen suddenly burst out in a fit of fear and outrage. "Are you in love with Laxus?"

Erza recoiled. Two seconds later, she was gone, and Evergreen was left wondering if it had all been a dream. If it were not…

…Evergreen clenched her fist. If it were so, she could not, under any circumstances, let Erza's crush on Laxus go on!

Meanwhile, back in the safety of her own room, Erza crossed out Evergreen's name and sighed deeply.

Maybe she should go warn Laxus…or even Mirajane, of their impending future as husband and wife. On second thought, maybe not, but she still felt sorry for them.

When Evergreen was determined…well, she was determined.

Almost as determined as Natsu with a chicken leg.

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Laxus sat in an in-palace restaurant with Mirajane the next morning. He liked to call it a friendly outing [or inning, as it was inside of the palace], but he knew if Evergreen, or any of the Raijinshuu, for that matter, caught him with Mira, they would assume it was a date.

He donned a pair of sunglasses as if they would help conceal him.

"Evergreen, Fried, and Bixlow have been missing all morning," he rolled his eyes and grumbled. "And I'd wanted to spar with Fried today, too."

Mira laughed, a light tinkling laugh. "Be patient, Prince Laxus. I'm sure they'll show up."

"I hope soon," Laxus retorted.

"I do too, for your sake."

The food arrived, and as all palace commodities were, it was delicious. Laxus soon forgot about his mischievous trio of followers and focused on Mira and the food instead.

She was pretty, with blue eyes and white hair. She didn't look old, just fresh and exotic. Laxus had always admired how beautiful she was, but he'd never had even the slightest chance to feel anything for her. With the war going on...

...well, it certainly felt nice to unwind and relax with her once in awhile. Even if he didn't see her romantically ("...yet," Evergreen said in the back of his mind.), they were at least very good childhood friends.

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Silver narrowed his eyes at the figure in front of him. He did not trust the person cloaked in black, although this person was most likely his best chance at attaining information.

This figure came to him with promises of information about the inner workings of the castle, but only if Silver gave him lodgings and refugee fit for a prince after his final goal, enough money to last a lifetime, and the capture of Prince Laxus, as well as his execution.

Silver called his advisors into council and debated with them for a long time.

"Very well," he said. "Please share your information, while my servants will prepare your new household."

"What about Prince Laxus?" the person said, voice smooth and low.

"My top advisors will discuss on how to best capture him. That being said, it's your turn to speak and uphold _your_ end of the deal. So tell me, spy, what do you have to tell me?"

The person cleared his or her throat and began. "I cannot tell you everything I know yet, as my usefulness will decline otherwise, however, I can tell you things about Knightwalker and Mystogan."

Silver leaned forward, eagerly, awaiting the words that would provide him with a host of information.

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**written_by**


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